TEL AVIV, November 3 (RIA Novosti) - Syrian Army tanks entered the demilitarized Golan Heights buffer zone on the border with Israel in Saturday for the first time in 40 years, prompting Israel to send an official protest to UN observers.
"Today three tanks entered the the demilitarized zone between Israel and Syria. The Israel Defense Force notified UN observers," an Israeli Army press spokesperson told RIA Novosti.
The buffer zone, which contains UN observers, was set up to separate Israeli and Syrian forces after the Arab-Israeli war of 1973. Although it is de jure on Syrian territory, it has been occupied and annexed by Israel since the war. Ownership of the strategically important Golan Heights remains one of the main points of contention between the two nations.
Israel's limited response to the incursion into the zone can be explained by the fact that the tanks' movements were probably related to the Syrian Army's attempts to fight the ongoing insurrection against President Assad's regime, rather than any hostile intent toward Israel, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Israel has not previously protested to the UN about occasional stray artillery shells which have come in from Syria during the course of the current civil war there.
